PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa anti-corruption establishment not to harass and arrest a former director general (health services) facing criminal charges.

Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan also gave the respondents, including the provincial chief secretary and health secretary, a fortnight to respond to a petition filed by former DG Dr Shaukat Ali against his transfer and the formation of a committee to “ensure transparency in the procurement of medicines and medical items.”

The petitioner requested the bench to set aside a June 4 notification by the chief minister to form that committee, and quash any proceedings by the committee and other government functionaries in pursuance of the notification.

He said the May 14 notification for his transfer should also be declared illegal.

The petitioner sought the court’s orders for the ACE to produce records of any ongoing inquiry or investigation into complaints against him.

Seeks govt response to his plea against transfer

The respondents in the petition are the provincial chief secretary, health secretary, ACE director general, Drug Control and Pharmacy Services DG, the current DG (health services), and special assistant to chief minister on anti-corruption retired Brigadier Mohammad Mussadiq Abbasi.

Advocate Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah and Waqas Khan appeared for the petitioner and said their client had served on various management posts in the health department and was last appointed the DG (health services) on Jan 17, 2023.

They claimed that influential people, including a ruling party MPA, approached the petitioner in Feb 2023 and sought “extraordinary” favours, including appointment of certain individuals to the department.

The lawyers claimed that as the petitioner declined requests, those people began a vilification campaign against him.

They added that at the behest of that MPA, their client was accused of receiving bribes to approve transfer orders for a clinical technician, who had moved an application for her transfer from Bannu’s medical teaching institution to that of Dera Ismail Khan.

The counsel said that those allegations led to the suspension of the petitioner through a notification on April 26, 2024, without any inquiry.

They added that the suspension order was challenged in the high court, which disposed of their client’s petition on May 15, directing the chief secretary to “see as to whether any departmental proceedings have been initiated by the competent authority in the instant matter and also to ensure that such suspension is not used as a tool to post out the petitioner from the post of Director General health Service, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

The lawyers, however, said contrary to the court’s order, the department posted the petitioner out through a notification on May 16.

They said that at the behest of the MPA in question, the chief minister formed a six-member committee through the June 4 notification to “discuss the uninterrupted availability of essential medicines and to maintain transparency in the procurement process in districts.”

The counsel contended that the notification was illegal as it didn’t specify any law, which empowered the chief minister to constitute such a committee, which was headed by his special assistant on anti-corruption as a political appointee.

They argued that TORs of that committee were deliberately kept vague and open-ended, allowing the panel to look into any matter, including past transactions.

The lawyers added that the said committee, in a letter on June 7, sought to procure records of medicine and medical devices produced by the health department in the year 2023-24, which was the tenure of the petitioner as DG health services, so the move had mala fide intent.

They argued that after the committee’s formation, their client got phone calls from “someone claiming to be an ACE assistant director for surrendering for interrogation” without the issuance of any official summons or charge sheet of inquiry.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024